Method of utilizing emulsions



May 19, 1942.

M. w. DIT-ro METHOD OF UTILIZING EMULSIONS Filed May 4, 1938 2 Sheejzg-Sheet l Patented May 19, 1942' MTHOD F UTILIZING EMULSIONS Marvin W. Ditto, New York, N. Y., assignor to Emulsions Process Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application May 4, 193s, serial No. 206,093

8 Claims. (Cl. 10G-277) This invention relates to an improved method of utilizing oil emulsions for the production of coal or other solid fuel briquettes, road covering materials, roong materials, floor coverings, sound deadeners, etc.

In accordance with the invention, I pre-disto a pipe I9 leading to the oil end of the pro- Y portioning pump. A conduit 20 having an interposed valve 2| connects the outlet of the heater perse water or any other suitable aqueous liquid in bituminous cut-back or other suitable hydrocarbon oil and raise the temperature of the resulting emulsion to a degree sufcient to vaporize the water. I hold the emulsion, however, under suflicient pressure to prevent vaporization until the emulsion is to be -mixed with a suitable aggregate, at which time the pressure is released, and the emulsion froths and is then mixed with the aggregate. It will be appreciated, if water has been incorporated into hydrocarbon oil, and the resulting emulsion raised to a temperature above the Vaporization point of water, then as soon as the pressure is released, the water tends to expand in a -vapor form, and this results in expansion of the emulsion to a foam whichA permits a wider distribution throughout the mass of the aggregate.

The invention will now be explained in connection with -the accompanying drawings, in which suitable apparatus is illustrated for use in practicing the invention.

In the drawings,

Figs. 1, 1a, 1b and 1c are side elevations respectively of the series of units employed in practicing the invention.

Referring to the drawings, A designates a water tank; B an oil tank; C an oil heater; D a variable speed driving mechanism; E a proportioning pump; F an emulsifying mill; G a cooler or heater; H a conveyor; J an aggregate bin; K means for feeding aggregate from the bin; L a spray chamber; M a spray head; N a fluxer; P an emulsion storage tank; R a second conveyor; S a briquetting press, and T a third conveyor.

The proportioning pump E may be of any suitable'construction, but I prefer to use the one disclosed in my application Serial No, 230,480, led September 17, 1938. The emulsifying mill F may be of the type disclosed in my application Serial No. 196,780, filed March 18, 1938, or of the kind disclosed in the Russell Patent No. 2,059,535.

The water tank A is connected by a pipe I0 having valves II and I2 interposed therein, to a pipe I3 leading to the Water end of the proportioning pump.

A pipe I4 provided with a valve I5 connects the tank B to the inlet of the heater C. Another pipe IE having valves Il and I8 connects the pipe Id to the pipe I6 at a point between the valves I1 and I8. It is obvious from the foregoing .that oil may be passed froml the tank B tothe proportioning pump either directly or through the heater C.

The proportioning pumpis driven by the driving mechanism D, and the pumped oil 'is discharged through a pipe 22, and the water is discharged through a pipe 23; these pipes being pro-f vided respectively with check valves 24 and 25. Pipes 22 and 23 are connected to the inlet 26 o f the emulsifying mill, which, like the heater C may be steam heated.

The outlet pipe 2l of the emulsifying mill leads to the cooler or heater G and has an interposed valve 28. The outlet of the unit G communicates with a pipe 29 having an interposed valve 30, and this pipe extends into the spray chamber L and terminates in the spray head M.

Due to this construction, an oil or water phase emulsion may be made in the mill F, and may be maintained under pressure until discharged through the pipe M. If the emulsion is insufficiently heated after leaving the mill, it maybe additionally heated in the unit G, but if it is too hot at the time of leaving the emulsifying mill, it may be cooled by means of theunit G. In this way, the emulsion discharged at M may have a predetermined temperature at the time when it is converted into a foam. In the chamber L, the foaming or frothing emulsion is mixed with the v aggregate fed from the bin by the rotary feeder K. The foam and aggregate pass into the fluxer N where these materials are thoroughly mixed before being discharged into the conveyor R which transfers the mixture to 'ar briquetting machine S or any other suitable machine, depending upon the aggregate used and the purpose of the nal product. the latter being conveyed by the conveyor T to any suitable place of storage or shipment.

Instead of making the emulsion and using it immediately, it may be manufactured and stored in the pressure tank P and utilized later. In this case, the emulsion would be cooled in the unit G and then be transferred through a pipe 3| having valves 32 and 33, into the top of the storage tank. Of course, the valve 30 at this time would be closed. Subsequently, when it is desired to use the stored emulsion, it can be discharged from the tank P through an outlet pipe 34 having a valve 35, into the pipe 3I. At such time, the

, standard machine.

of the water upon release of the pressure at thel spray head M. A by-pass pipe 40 is provided with a valve 4I to allow the emulsion to be passed from the mill F directly to storage P without travelling through the unit G. Y. y

By Way of example, I will describe my method in connection with lthe manufacture of f uel briquettes. In such method, a bituminous oil, such as cut-back oil from petroleum distillation, or any other suitable hydrocarbon oil, is emulsified in the mill F with the necessary proportion of water or other suitable aqueous liquid, and is raised in temperature above: the vaporization point`of Water, and held at a pressure to maintain both water and oil in-,the liquid phase.

When the pressure is released at M by spraying or discharging the .emulsion into a region of lower or atmospheric pressure, in the presence of the fuel aggregate, it expands, forming a foam consisting of globules of water vapor surrounded by films of oil, thereby reducing the quantity of -oil required for binding purposes, due to the water dispersion of the oil films upon surfaces of the aggregate. The aggregate, such as pulverized coal or coal dust screenings has been previously deposited in the bin J through the instrumentality of the elevator H, and it is fed by the rotary feeder into the spray chamber where it commingles with the foaming oil. The mate-- rials then enter the fluxer where they are thoroughly mixed, and from which the mixture is fed by the conveyor R into the hopper of the briquetting machine.

It has generally been the practice in the past to use unemul'sified oil and dry coal dust in the preparation of briquettes for fuel purposes. In contrast with this, my method reverses the condition and emulsifres the oil with from 5 to.60% of water, and uses coal dust as it actually occurs without pre-drying to form the briquettes in a By the use of the emulsion, a substantial saving is made in the amount of bituminous binding oil required, because of the foaming characteristics mentioned above. This is due to the fact that 'dispersion of the water throughout the oil is so fine that the water is divided into extremely small globules which impart'a uniform expansion to the oil to form the foam. Due to the distribution of the binding material throughout the finely divided aggregate, each particle of the latter is coated with a thin film of oil so that one particle will adhere to the adjoining particle, and it is not necessary to depend upon dispersion of the binding oil with the coal dust or the/like in order to obtain uniform distribution, Actually, it takes a very small quantity of such binding oil to coat the aggregate particles so that they will bind together, and to eliminate the difficulty encountered in using straight binding materials which have a tendency to create zones of higher concentration in the fluxing machine. It requires less time to secure the distribution of the -binding material when it is in a foamed condition than it would if it was simply sprayed on as unemulsified binding oil.

In the past, when efforts have been made to voil throughout the mass, and excess water can be eliminated in the/briquetting machine at the .time the material is passing through the rollers where high pressure'is exerted and the material squeezed to its briquette form.

If itis desired to manufacture a covering material, for roads, streets, pavements or the like, aggregate material consisting of crushed stone, sand, Haydite or the like may be used in place ofy a fuel aggregate.

If prepared material for floor coverings such as linoleum are to be prepared, then an aggregate material such as clay, cork dust, etc., may be employed.

When sound deadening material is to be prepared, wood fibre, rock wool or other fibrous material may be used as the aggregate, and the same procedure will be followed, allowing for the difference in the characteristic of the'material in its final form, which may be-tile, block or sheet boards.

In making certain products, it may be desirable to incorporate in the emulsion, a gas in addition to the oil and water. To provide for this, the inlet of the emulsifying mill may be connected to a gas inlet pipe 45 having a control valve 46. I have found, dependent upon the type of material, it is desirable sometimes-to incorporate in the emulsion gases which form gaseous foamlike structures in some instances, and'in other instances, are absorbed by the water and oil of the emulsion. Such gases as carbon dioxide. nitrogen, atmospheric air come within the category required by this process.

From the above it will bejunderstood that I proposed to prepare either a water or oil phase emulsion heated to a temperature above 212 F.

to create pressure which is maintained to prevent the evaporation of water during the emulsifying process. The frothing action does not take place until the emulsified binding material is released through the spray head, where the commuted material to be briquetted or the like is introduced into the apparatus. By ,my method and apparatus, the process of manufacturing certain products is simplified because the method eliminates emulsifying agents; permits accurate control of the desirable percentage of Water, and by the control of the percentage of Water, the degree of frothing is regulated, and the desirability of reducing the amount of binding material compared to the mass of material to be briquetted can be regulated and controlled.

It has been found in prior practice employing emulsifying agents such as soap, rosin, argilliferous materials and chemicals for breaking the viscosity of the binding pitch, there is a tendency for the finished product to melt, disintegrate or change shape because of lack of binding strength. My method eliminates these disadvantages in that noemulsifying agent is used,

the percentage of water and binding pitch is predetermined and predispersed; and no frothing action takes place until the material is to be combined with the aggregate.

After the water dispersion has taken place in my process, if there is any liability of the release of light end vapors of the pitch as the result of high temperatures, the emulsion can be cooled down at G to a temperature sufficiently low before discharging through the spray nozzle, so that any vapors that may have resulted from vaporization or cracking are re-incorporated in the bituminous mass and are discharged through the spray nozzle M in the liquid phase.

The herein disclosed method has given satisfactory results, and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art, after an understanding of my invention, that other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is therefore intended that all matters contained in the above description shall'be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a method of the character described, predispersing an aqueous liquid in a heavy hydrocarbon oil to form an emulsion and heating the same to a temperature above the vaporization point of water at atmospheric pressure, maintaining the heated emulsion under a superatmospheric pressure suflicient to prevent vaporization of -said aqueous liquid, then releasing the pressure to cause the aqueous liquid to vaporize and expand the emulsion into a foamy condition, and mixing the resulting foam with an aggregate.

2. In a method of the character described, making a non-colloidal emulsion comprising water and heavy oil, heating the emulsion to a temperature of at least 212 F. While maintaining the same under superatmospheric pressure to prevent vaporization of the water, then spraying the emulsion into a zone where the pressure is sufficiently low to permit the emulsion to assume a foamy condition, and mixing the resulting foam with an aggregate.

3. In a method of the character described, making a non-colloidal emulsion comprising water and heavy oil, heating the emulsion to a temperature of at least 212 F., while maintaining the same under superatmospheric pressure to prevent vaporization of the water, then spraying the emulsion into a zone where the pressure is sumciently low to permit the emulsion to assume a foamy condition, and mixing the resulting foam with a powdered fuel aggregate.

4. In a method of the character described, predispersing an aqueous liquid in a heavy hydrocarbon oil to form an emulsion, storing the emulsion, subsequently heating the emulsion to a teniperature above the vaporization point of water at atmospheric pressure, maintaining the heated emulsion under a pressure suflicient to prevent vaporization of said, aqueous liquid. releasing the pressure to cause the aqueous liquid to vaporize and expand the emulsion into a foamy condition, and mixing ythe resulting foam with an aggregate.

5. In a method of the character described, predispersing an aqueous liquid and a gas in a heavy hydrocarbon oil to form an emulsion, and heat'- ing the emulsion to a temperature above the vaporization point of water at atmospheric pressure, maintaining the heated emulsion under a pressure suicient to prevent vaporization of said aqueous liquid, releasing the pressure to cause the aqueous liquid to vaporize-and expand the emulsion into 4a foamy condition, and mixing the resulting foam with an aggregate.

6. In a method of the character described, pre- `dispersing an aqueous liquid in a heavy'hydrocarbon oil to form an emulsion and heating the same to a temperature above the vaporization point of water at atmospheric pressure, maintaining the heated emulsion under a pressure sumcient to prevent vaporization of said aqueous liquid, releasing the pressure to cause the laqueous liquid to'vaporize and expand the emulsion into a foamy condition, mixing the resulting foam with'an aggregate, and converting the resulting mixture into a shaped article.

7, In a method of the character described, predispersing an aqueous liquid in a heavy hydrocarbon oil to form an emulsion, the aqueous liquid being present in the emulsion in percentages ranging from 5% to 60% of the emulsion, then while the emulsion is at a temperature above 212 F. and under a superatmospheric pressure to prevent vaporization of the aqueous liquid, releasing the pressure to cause the aqueous liquid to vaporize and expand the emulsion into a foamy condition, and mixing the resulting foam with an aggregate.

8. In a method of the character described, predispersing an aqueous liquid in the absence of any emulsifying agent, in a heavy hydrocarbon oil and thereby forming an emulsion in which the oil remains in an adhesive condition, then while the emulsion is at a temperature of aty least 212 F. and under a superatmospheric pressure to prevent vaporization of the aqueous liquid, releasing the pressure to cause the aqueous liquid to vaporize and expand the emulsion into a lioamy condition, and immediately mixing the resulting foam with an aggregate.

MARVIN W. DITTO. 

